Headrest



F. N. ODEA Jan. 6, .1948.

HEADREST Filed May 8, 1946 m def/ck 1v. O'Dea,

Patented Jan. 6, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HEADREST Frederick Nicholas 'ODea, Baltimore, Md., assignor of one-third to Nora ODea and one- "third to Marie Dea, Baitimore, Md.

Application May 8,1946, Serial No. 668,224

other support to which it may be attached, orv

may be as wide as the ordinary chair, seat,- couch, bed or the like or of such Width and configuration as to extend across the back and side wings of a wing-back chair.

Various devices have heretofore been employed as back rests and others as head rests for use on chairs, sofas or beds. In connection with certain types of chairs, such as barber chairs, head rests are commonly included as an integral part of the chair construction and are sometimes made de-. tachable or provided with means for adjustably positioning the rest longitudinally to different heights. These head rests are commonly made in the form of a pad upon which either the back of the head or the hollow of the neck may rest.

If shaped at all the rest is merely curved or hollowed transversely and not shaped longitudinally to conform to the contour of the head, neck and shoulders. Heretofore the provision of simultaneous support for the head, neck and shoulders has necessitated the use of a plurality of pillows, cushions or pads.

My invention consists in a unitary head rest of such shape, configuration and construction as to fit and support the head, neck and shoulders of a person occupying the chair, seat, sofa, lounge, beach chair, bed or the like to which it may be attached. This device is preferably made in the form of a detachable and portable device provided with means for adjustment in vertical, horizontal and inclined planes.

One of the principal objects and features of my invention is a form of construction of head rest which affords an eflicient and convenient .support not only for the back of the head but also for the neck and shoulders.

Another important object of the. invention is the provision of a head rest of this character,

which is portable and capable of removable attachment to a chair, seat, couch, sofa, bed or the like, and which may be adjusted to different an- 1 Claim. (Cl. 155-177) [may be of hard gular positions at the will of the user without removal or attachment.

Essentially my rest consists of a body which and rigid material suitably shaped, but is preferably composed of some soft and resilient substance, such as rubber'or sponge. In the preferred form of'my invention the rest is mounted upon a base in such manner as to be r adjustable thereon to different angular positions to suit the convenience 'of the user. The base may be attached to a chair or other piece of furniture or may be provided with clips, clamps; hooks or other suitable means for detachably securing it thereto.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved head restwithadjustable base;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 1, one possible position of adjustment being indicated thereon in .dotted lines;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line ll-3 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Figures 4 and 5 are fragmentary side-elevational views of the rest shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, in different positions of adjustment.-

As illustrated. my head rest comprises a preferably unitary pad or cushion A having a back I which may be curved or angular or'of any configuration to fit the surface of the support upon which it is placed, but which is preferably flat; a preferably fiat top 2; and an inclined face 3 molded or otherwise shaped to provide, transversely thereof, a depression 311. a projection 3b and a relatively shallow depression 3c tapering downwardly in curved orstraight lines. The top 2 and one or both of the sides l3 may be flat, rounded, angular .or of .any desired ornamental shape. The cushion A may be made in arcuate transverse form or with side wings to provide support for either side as well as the back of the head. Cushion A may be made in different lengths and sizes, the most convenient and popular being a length of from fifteen to seventeen inches; it may be of' any desired width, from a small pad or pillow to one wide enough to extend the entire length of a seat, couch, sofa, bed or the like; its thickness likewise may be changed as desired and the relative lengths of the depressions 3a and 3c and projection 3b may vary somewhat, so that depression 30, for example, may be longer or shorter than depression 3a.

The cushion A may be constructed of any suitable material or combination of materials.

Whatever the specific construction of my head rest it i to be understood that it may be of any desired color and with or without fringes, rufiles, embossing, designs or other ornamental features attached to it or applied to its surface in any suitable manner. The edges or corners of the rest and its base may be angular, rounded or curved in any desired configuration.

In its'preferred form my head rest comprises the unitary device illustrated in Fig. 1, wherein the pad or cushion A is mounted, either detachably or permanently (by any suitable means, such as glue, cement, screws, bolts, clamps, hooks or buttons) upon a preferably portable base B, which may be of various types of construction but is preferably formed of a pair of base elements 5 and 6 adjustably connected in any manner which will permit the raising, lowering or tilting of element 5 and the cushion A carried by it; the particular connecting means illustrated comprises links 1, 8, each pivotally connected at its respective ends to base elements 5 and 6 and so arranged that the pivot pin at one end of each link 1, 8, rides in a slot la in element 5 and the pivot pin at the other end of each link I, 8 rides in a corresponding slot 1a in element 6. Each pivot pin is provided with a suitable thumb nut Ill.

The base B may be constructed of wood, metal or any other suitable material and may be provided with hooks 4, like those illustrated, or with any other suitable form of attaching means for detachably supporting the base B and cushion or pad A upon the back of a chair, seat, sofa, bed

or the like, as indicated in dotted lines in Figs. 4 and 5.

With my head rest thus positioned the occupant of the chair, seat, sofa, bed or the like may place his head against the cushion A and obtain support for his head, neck and shoulders, the back of the head fitting naturally into depression 311 and the shoulders into depression 3c, while the hollow of the neck is engaged and supported by the rounded rib or projection 3b.

Should the occupant of the chair, seat, sofa, bed or the like desire to sit with his head at some different vertical angle, tilted either forwardly or backwardly, he need only loosen the thumb nuts in and swing the base element 5 outwardly or inwardly to any desired degree and then tighten the thumb nuts In to place and retain the head rest at any selected one of various angular positions, two of the possible positions being illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5, two others being indicated (in dotted lines) in those figures, and still another 5 in Fig. 2, the last-mentioned involving a vertical adjustment, without tilting of cushion A, and being effected by a simple vertical sliding movement of cushionA while only the thumb nuts l0 whose pivot pins ride in one slot la are loose.

10 I claim:

A device of the class described, comprising a resilient body having a surface entirely inclined generally upwardly and forwardly when in upright position and adapted for engagement with the human body, said surface having its upper and lower portions each formed with a depression extending transversely thereof and having a transversely extending rib portion between said depressions, said portions being merged together in a gradual manner and being of definite preformed contour corresponding substantially with that of the surface of the adjoining regions of the shoulders, neck and head of the human body so as to afiiord means of resting engagement 5 therewith, an;l, .said body being of greater depth at the top thereof than at any other portion thereof when in upright position.

FREDERICK NICHOLAS ODEA.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 93,662 Archer Aug. 17, 1869 247,823 I-Iiller Oct. 4, 1881 262,901 Kulich Aug. 15, 1882 518,771 Archer Apr. 24, 1894 530,159 Case Dec. 4, 1894 730,531 Grimme June 9, 1903 1,020,444 Platt Mar. 19, 1912 1,673,433 Wheeler et al June 12, 1928 1,890,358 Barcalo Dec. 6, 1932 1,937,920 Smith Dec. 5, 1933 2,154,017 Tonning Apr. 11, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 414,131 Great Britain Aug. 2, 1934 

